On the back of my last post I have a few more fantasy miniatures to share with you. These can make good writing prompts if you’re a writer and if you like fantasy I think you’ll appreciate them too.
Here is a Black Dragon and the Sorceress that is controlling it.
A graveyard of undead rising up to grow their army,
And a Balrog, possibly a cousin of the one Gandalf slayed, who’s come looking for his vengeance.
Looking for your own dragon to paint? You can find some fearsome creatures online.
I hope these inspire you, whether it is a prompt for your writing or a piece of art, motivation to watch a good movie, or inspiration to pick up your next great book.
Happy Reading!
Allan Walsh writes Fantasy and Horror. If you’re looking for something new to read in these genres, why not check out his books here.
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I thought I would do something a little different today, yet still fantasy related. A short time ago I mentioned that I used to paint miniatures and had some photos of a few buried in the back of a cupboard somewhere that I would try to dig out. Well, I found them!
The photos are not professional and these are photos of photos (Yep… the originals are the old fashioned paper kind) so please forgive the poor quality, but they are clear enough. If you are a writer you could use these images as writing prompts, and if you’re a reader, well I hope they stimulate your imagination. So for your enjoyment (I hope…), here are a few:
The first one (as shown above) is a Serpentine Dragon.
This one is a Centaur rocking a punk-rock mohawk and travelling with a band of dwarves. I’m not sure if things have changed, but when I bought these they tended to come with plain black plastic stands like the ones in the photo above.
And I believe this one was labelled as a goblin rider on boar back (but I think it looks more like an orc rider). I went the extra step with this one and made a more ornate stand. It wasn’t hard, I used a model railway tree that I stuck some green stuff on it, glued some tea leaves on the base and painted them greenish brown, then popped a home made mushroom in the background.
If you’re interested in miniatures but don’t know where to lay your hands on any, Games Workshop have a great range to choose from. You can even get whole packs to start your collection.
I hope you enjoyed these photos, I will post a few more over the coming days. Until then, Happy Reading!
Allan Walsh writes Fantasy and Horror. If you’re looking for something new to read in these genres, why not check out his books here.
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It’s no secret that my favourite fantasy author is Joe Abercrombie. I’ve said it before and no doubt I will say it again. I just love his writing style, the way he crafts his characters, the way he plots, do I need to go on? I could but I will save you from my ravings. The point is I thought I would throw the question out to you and see what comes back. So, here it is. Who is your favourite fantasy or horror author? You can let me know in the comments below.
Wrath of Empire by Brian McClellan thrusts us into a world in turmoil to follow the paths of 3 main characters. Lady Flint, Michel Bravis, and Ben Styke. War rages, vengeance is sought by many, espionage is all around, and there is a race to find an ancient source of power that could make or break civilisations.
The Cover: I really like this cover. It’s simple, yet effective. It aligns well with the story and it fits the genre.
The Good Stuff: Wow! I loved this book. The author knows how to leave each chapter on a cliff hanger. He switches character point of view (POV) at the end of each chapter as we follow the stories of several main characters, but he clearly grounds the reader in the POV character at the start of the new chapter. The characters are strong individuals and I love the gritty feel and conflict in each of them. The story develops well and all comes together nicely at the end.
The Bad Stuff: The only niggle I have is that the author does a little info dump at the introduction of each new character. It would have been brilliant if he had weaved the description in seamlessly, but these seams show, making them a little rough round the edges. Having said this, they are relatively short and once the characters’ descriptions have been introduced it is easy to get lost in the story again.
Overall, while Brian McClellan hasn’t knocked my favourite author from his number 1 spot, this is a great fantasy story and I really enjoyed it. The characters are all unique and interesting in their own way. The little niggles did little to dampen my enjoyment and I will be happy to read more from this author. This one is getting a solid powder-enhanced 5 out of 5 golden bookmarks from me.
Want to see if you agree with my review? Grab your own copy from these links:
A Keeper’s Tale: The Story of Tomkin and the Dragon by J.A. Andrews
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
A Keeper’s Tale by JA Andrews is the tale of a boy living in the shadow of his older brother, a girl running away from her past and a dragon seeking revenge.
The Cover: I love this cover. It is interesting, it is professional, it depicts the story beautifully and it conveys that it fits in the fantasy genre.
The Good Stuff: This book was a freebie for signing up to JA Andrews blog and I was very pleasantly surprised by it. Other than the couple of points noted above, it was well written. In fact, there were parts in the beginning section that I really loved because they were so well written. The story is definitely geared towards YA and fits well into this genre. The story is quite clever in my opinion with some great dialogue. The metaphors and similes are original and the characters are likeable.
The Bad Stuff: There were one or two places in this story where the description had been dumped in a block of information. This could have been worked into the story better and revealed over a few pages, rather than clumped together in one piece. There were also one or two spots later in the story where the actions became a little stunted. I.e. He did this, then he did that, sort of thing, but it was very limited and other than that, there wasn’t really anything I didn’t like.
Overall this is a quick, fun read. I really enjoyed it and therefore I’m going to give this one a dragon roaring 4 out of 5 golden bookmarks.
Want to see if you agree with my review? Grab your own copy on these links:
She Who Waits by Daniel Polansky follows Warden on a murder investigation in the ghetto known as Low Town. An investigation that turns out to be far more involved that it first appears.
The Cover: The cover is professional and works for the genre. I picked it as a fantasy/dark fantasy title.
The Good Stuff: The writing is competent and there are a few great lines in this title, along with a few twists and turns in the plot. I did enjoy the characters although there were some issues noted in the bad stuff below. I really enjoyed the grittiness of the world setting and the mix of social groups
The Bad Stuff: For me the biggest issue is a personal preference. I really do not enjoy 1st person POV, it puts me on the back foot straight away. Coupled with the story initially coming across as a kind of historical crime novel set in the late 17th or early 18th century, it took a while to get into. At the end of the book I was still a little confused on the time period, but then it is fantasy and I’m happy to accept that it may just be set in its own time period. While I enjoyed the characters, they were introduced with an info dump of description. I also didn’t believe the main character was consistent with his background. I haven’t read the previous books in this series, and it may be explained in those, but Warden grew up on the streets, a pick pocket and spotter, running scams, taking drugs, beating people up. Yet his vocabulary is far superior to what I would expect of someone with his background. I would never expect a character like this to use words such as gregarious, ruminations, or hedonistic, and these are just a few examples.
Overall, I enjoyed the story and the characters, but I came away a little unsatisfied. Probably a combination of my personal preference and a few little niggles with the author’s style. This is a 3.5 star book for me, but as I can only deal in whole numbers, I’m giving it a back-stabbing, dirt stained 4 out of 5 golden bookmarks.
Want to know if you agree with my review? Grab your own copy from these links:
I’ve always liked to think of myself as a bit of a cool kid. I’ve earned a black belt in a martial art, flown a plane, flown a helicopter, drifted a lotus around a skidpan, ridden in a tank, and much more. And as strange as it may seem, I was never interested in reading when I was younger either. Having said this, I’ve been having a think about the things that have influenced my writing, and the more I think about it, the more I feel like I’m actually a bit of a nerd.
When I was around 10 or 11, I’d secretly stay up late watching shows like Hammer House of Horror, Tales of the Unexpected, and The Twilight Zone. I think it’s safe to say that this was my introduction to horror. It gave me a good insight into the genre and scared the pants off me.
In secondary school I discovered I had friends who played D&D. I was blown away by the die cast figures that they had bought to use in their games. While I never really got into playing the game, I was soon spending many nights glazy eyed painting a goblin or a dwarf or some other awesome creature. I’ve always been a bit of an artist, taking pleasure in painting and drawing over the years, and I found it an easy transition to painting figures. I have some old photos of them somewhere, I’ll try to dig them out and add them to a later post.
I watched a lot of cartoons when I was young too, I still enjoy them to be honest. Tom and Jerry, Danger Mouse, Dungeons and Dragons, Arabian Nights, etc. I think it all these factors came together and led me into graphic novels.
As I moved into my late teens I started watching a lot of martial art movies (think Snake in the Eagles Shadow, Drunken Master, Crystal Fist, etc.) and one day I stumbled onto the animated movie Ninja Scroll. I loved it! I’d say this steered me towards Anime.
Some years later my brother introduced me to Magic the Gathering. I love this game and I played it daily for many years. When I moved to Australia I stopped for a while as I couldn’t find anyone else who played it. It was pure chance that about a year later I saw a few guys playing it in the canteen of the organisation I was working for. Needless to say, I introduced myself, started playing Magic with them, and we became good mates.
It was many years later that I became interested in writing and it was only natural that I leaned towards horror and fantasy. While I had read one or two novels over the years, it was actually my writing that pushed me into reading. In other words… the reason I took up reading was to improve my skills in the craft of writing. I once read a quote by J.K. Rowling that went something like this – “If you don’t like to read, you haven’t found the right book.” I’d take this a step further and say that if you don’t like to read, you haven’t found the right author, and it was only a matter of time before I found Joe Abercrombie and the world of Grimdark/Dark Fantasy.
We open many doors on our journey through life, but I can’t say if it was the things I’ve experienced that have led me towards fantasy and horror, or if my interest in fantasy and horror led me towards my experiences. Maybe it is a bit of both, whichever way, I will always have an interest for the scary, the magical, and the mythical. It seems to me that as my writing progresses I may find my fantasy and horror writing blending together and sending me on the path towards Grimdark. Who knows? Only time will tell. Why not stick around and we’ll see how the journey unfolds.
Mortal Engines by Philip Reeve is a story about love, courage and survival amid Mobile cities, ravaging each other for resources in a barren world.
The Cover: A nice cover, depicting a scene from the book and conveying the genre and tone of the story well.
The Good Stuff: While the style is unusual and dated, I enjoyed this book. There are some great characters and concepts, a few unexpected turns and a well established, albeit barren, wasteland of a world.
The Bad Stuff: This is an old YA novel and the authors style is a little dated. There are multiple points of view and author interjections in parenthesis throughout the story.
Overall, this is a good YA novel. You’ll come to love the main characters and want to see them succeed. There are a few twists you won’t see coming, that start very close to the beginning of the story. For entertainment value and creativity, I’m giving this one 3 out of 5 Golden Bookmarks.
It’s been a while since I posted anything more than a quote or a book review, truth is I’ve been side-tracked. After being made redundant, I took a little break overseas, I’ve dived into a double diploma, and I have been searching for a new job. Fortunately, I think the break has done me good, I’ve made a bit of a dent in my diplomas, and I have just scored a new job. So, hopefully I will be able to get back into a routine of some sort now.
As far as my writing goes, I’ve got a few short stories waiting for me to publish them. I plan to wrap these up in an anthology together with my currently published short stories. I need to get the new stories edited and find a cover for the book first though.
I’m also trying to read more. More authors – trying to find another that hits the spot like my favourite one, but that’s a tough gig – and more books on the craft of writing. The most recent craft book I’ve read was on scene and structure and I’m about to get stuck into one on building characters. I hope these will help me improve my writing and give me the inspiration to get back into writing some of the novels I’ve put aside to stew.
Red Country by Joe Abercrombie follows Shy South and her ‘father’ Lamb across wild country in search of kidnapped family.
The Cover: In my opinion, the worst thing about Joe Abercrombie’s books are the covers. At best they are quite plain, but I really don’t like this one at all. I don’t think this cover fits with the story, it isn’t clear what you are getting, and if I didn’t know the author (and love his writing style), this cover would not have caught my attention. I can only hope he updates them at some point with covers that do his stories justice and deserve to grace the front of his novels.
The Good Stuff: There is everything I have come to expect from a Joe Abercrombie book, right here in this novel – Blood, gore and treachery a-plenty, well developed characters and a great yarn. We see some of his old, well-loved characters like Cosca, Shivers and the Bloody Nine. I love Logen Nine Fingers and I would have liked to have seen more of him, but he does play more than a cameo role in this story and that kept my appetite sated. The characters, are in line with Joe’s style, they are hard cases you love and hate all the same. They have a visible character arc through the story and come out changed characters at the end.
The Bad Stuff: For me, this book was somewhat different from the others I’ve read by Joe. This one had a real western feel to it, which will be pleasing to some, but I would have preferred something more in line with his previous works in this world. I also didn’t connect to the main character as well in this novel as I have to his past protagonists.
I’m giving this book a menacing, sunken eyed, evil grin with 4 out of 5 golden bookmarks.
Want to know if you agree with my review? Grab your own copy from these links:
Wrath of Empire by Brian McClellan
She Who Waits by Daniel Polansky
